CHAPTER 14
The twins crept downstairs carrying Blanca and left the house without making a sound. They had their torches and their fruit tart snacks in case they were hungry and they had a small bottle of water each. They sneaked around to the other side of the house keeping close to the walls. Just as they were about to cross the garden they heard the sound of a piano coming from somewhere high up in the house and noticed Aunty Izzy standing in the full light of the moon as if transfixed by both the music and the night sky. They knelt down behind a bush and held on tight to Blanca praying that she wouldn’t bark. They looked up at the sky to see what their Aunt could be looking at. The sky was full of stars. They had never seen so many before and even the Milky Way hung like a huge arc in the sky. They couldn’t even see the Milky Way at home because the street lights created such light pollution. Their Aunty stayed outside for a few minutes and then returned to her painting. When they heard the door snap closed they let Blanca go free.
“She must be going to paint the stars,” whispered Claire.
“Well, if she’s painting, she will never notice that we’ve gone,” replied Jack.
“I wonder who was playing that old piano,” whispered Claire. “Must be Thierry or Aliénor, I suppose. Whoever it was could play really well so it can’t be Jenny, she’s rubbish!” Claire grinned.
“Come on we haven’t got time to bother about a piano.
The twins ran across the garden and round to the side of the house that led to the beach. They briefly looked up to see the light in Jenny’s room and then made their way into the pine forest that led to the lighthouse. The sky was very bright but they could still see the regular flash of the light as it turned round and round to warn sailors of danger. It wasn’t until they got well away from the house that they switched on their torches to make sure they were working. They were, so they switched them off again so as not to waste the batteries. They might need them later but for now the moon lit up the whole landscape.
Blanca ran ahead of them and the twins felt sure that she knew she was going to the beach. They followed her, through the pinewoods and up over the huge sand dune next to the lighthouse. There they stopped for a few seconds but there was no sign of Uncle Bernard. The light was slowly revolving and the lights were on in the keeper’s cottage. They sneaked up to a small window and peered in. There was Uncle Bernard sitting with his back to them reading. He had a small radio next to him on the table and the twins could just make out the sound of music coming from it. “He won’t notice us,” said Jack. “Let’s go!”
The twins and Blanca ran off in the direction of the tracks in the sand. The lighthouse, behind them now, continued to blink out its warning. The sea to their left was rolling in and large waves broke on the shore. They went on for another five minutes when Jack said, “I’m sure we didn’t go this far.”
“We must have done,” replied Claire, “We haven’t seen our rock marker yet.”
Then it suddenly dawned on them. They looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Oh no. The tide has come in!” They had forgotten all about the tide that had now covered their marker rock and had wiped out the tracks in the sand. They sat down in the sand and Blanca ran circles around them.
“Let’s get closer to the sand dune for cover,” said Jack, “just in case anyone does come we don’t want to be seen.
So the twins moved up the beach to the sand dune and dug out a hole so they could all sit in it and look out over the top while remaining hidden from any smugglers. The sand up there was warm and as soon as Blanca jumped into the hole she turned around and around and settled down to sleep. The twins settled down to keep watch. The light of the full moon allowed them to see right down the beach; the lighthouse behind them continued its vigil; the pine forest was black against the bright sky and the waves rolled in at an even pace. Blanca snored. The twins continued to keep watch.
Suddenly Claire prodded Jack and whispered,” Look there’s a light in the trees over there.” They turned to look at the forest and could have sworn they saw a flashlight turning on and off. “It looks like a signal,” said Jack, “but it’s shinning out to sea.” Just then they saw an answering light out at sea. “They must be sending messages to each other,” said Claire. “Let’s try and get a bit closer. Come on Blanca. Let’s go!”